Author Interview – Dex Greenbright
Joining me today is steampunk author, Dex Greenbright.
Helen: Welcome Dex, and thank you so much for taking time to chat with me today. Tell us a little about your book, Dreams of Eysan.
Dex: Tales of the Automazombs wrapped up last year (2022) with Dreams of Eysan, the fourth in the series. It’s a short story series with steampunk cyborg zombies (Yep! You heard that right!). The new book collects stories from the newsletter and website that never made it into the main storyline, as well as the piece from the bookmark postcard I give out at conventions. I also added a couple of mini comics, religious myths, and worldbuilding tidbits. Dreams of Eysan exists because I love the world my co-authors and I made and I wanted to play in it a little longer.
Helen: I must admit Steampunk cyborg zombies does sound interesting! What were your thoughts behind the cover?
Dex: So, to preface this, I’m also the cover artist! I like to tell folks I do my own stunts. Every book in the series has the look of a leather hardcover book, each with a unique color. A Desperate Plan is green, for the plague. A Darker Road is red, for blood. Downfall is black, for ash. And now Dreams of Eysan is blue, for connectedness (regardless of what happens to the characters, they share the same sky). With the newest book, it’s told through the lens of one of the characters, Liridon, who collects the world’s stories for the Grand Library. I wanted to give a little peek into his world. I imagine he’s doing research here in the stacks of ancient books, his green jacket laid on a ladder for safekeeping, while a beam of light streams in from above. I made a rainbow overlay for the scene to give it an extra dreamlike quality. It’s funny, when I finished, I asked my co-authors if it was “too gay?” To which they responded “impossible!”
Helen: I love the insights behind the cover. When did you first realise you had a passion for writing?
Dex: Oh man. I did NaNoWriMo on a whim (with my Tales of the Automazombs co-authors, actually!) in 2009 or so. A couple weeks into writing my first novel, I had this moment of wishing I could keep going like this forever. So one novel turned into two and three and on and on. I guess I’ve always been a storyteller, though. As a kid I made picture books constantly. Even when I’m making art or comics, it’s all to entertain and inform and share stories with those around me.
Helen: That is so inspiring to many writers and demonstrates how Nanowrimo can help you focus on your writing. So glad you found the bug to continue writing. Out of your series, who is your favourite character?
Dex: My favorite character in Tales of the Automazombs has to be Liridon. I didn’t realize at first when I was writing his stories, but he’s got a lot of me in him. Neurodivergent as all heck, queer (asexual in his case), and generally just an odd little nerd trying his best.
Helen: Which genre do you prefer to write in?
Dex: I write science fiction and fantasy. Those are the stories that spoke to me as a kid and continue to capture my heart as an adult. Plus, writing about dragons and aliens and magic and wayward undead cyborgs is just plain fun!
Helen: I agree, writing fantasy is such fun, you can let your imagine loose! Now this series is complete, what are you currently working on?
Dex: I have a few that I’m really excited about. Honestly, I could talk WIPs all day, don’t tempt me! There’s the genderbent rescue quest with pansexual monsters and plots of regicide. Another has three friends who have to save Earth from interdimensional warlocks, who in turn are trying to save the multiverse from evil aliens. That one’s wild, but nowhere near the insanity of the one I’m most excited about, where a trans man foolishly says that he will worship any god that helps with his bottom surgery. Forgotten deities start showing up to answer his prayer, usually to apocalyptic effect. I’m trans myself, so writing this one has been one of the ways I work through my dysphoria.
Helen: Oh my, that sounds hilarious! I can imagine you chuckling away to yourself while writing. I look forward to the opportunity to see what outlandish situations you came up with! Which element of the writing process do you find most challenging and why?
Dex: There are things I struggle to write (I’ll occasionally forget to delve into the characters’ emotions) but I think the most challenging part of the process is turning off new ideas long enough to get one thing done. Every shiny new idea demands to be heard and refuses to leave me alone until I’ve at least gotten the outline down.
Helen: I know the feeling, sometime ideas just keep bubbling and you’re afraid to lose them. Do you plan your novels or are you more of a pantser?
Dex: Both! I tend to make a rough outline and some basic worldbuilding before I begin a story. Then when I sit down to actually write, pantsing takes over. I also enjoy another term for it, discovery writing, because sometimes it isn’t until halfway through a chapter that I’ll discover an idea that would be amazing to include but has massive implications for the outline. Every few chapters, I’ll go back and revise the outline, because knowing the overall plan is still helpful.
Helen: Many writers experience self doubt or Imposter Syndrome, how do you deal with it?
Dex: Imposter syndrome is the worst, that little voice that tells me I’m never going to “make it” as a writer and to just give up. When I’m feeling like that, I can go back and read maybe the last chapter I wrote, or something older that I loved writing. It’s never as bad as our brains would have us believe. If that doesn’t work, I call on my writer friends. Everyone’s ready to tell a rude brain to go sit in the corner and think about what it’s done.
Helen: What are some of the books you read recently that you would recommend to others?
Dex: Some recent books I’ve loved are The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal, the Singing Hills Cycle series by Nghi Vo, and the Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi.
Helen: Thank you so much for chatting with me today, just to close us out, what advice to have your dealing with writer’s block?
Dex: Sometimes a story needs time to settle in my brain. I can’t move forward with it, so I switch over to one of my other projects. That way I’m still writing, still creating. Other times, I get stuck in place and feel this nebulous wrongness. I used to think this was part of imposter syndrome, that I was the thing that was wrong. It took me a long time to realize this is just my brain’s way of letting me know something in the plot or character needs to be fixed. I listen to that internal voice more carefully these days. It’s a wise little thing.
About the Author
Dex GreenbrightDex Greenbright is a writer of monsters both kind and cruel, a Capricon Best In Show winning artist, and the editor, illustrator, and a contributing author for Tales of the Automazombs, a book series with steampunk cyborg zombies. He is a creative whirlwind, a magical master of dungeons, and always, always available for hire.
Twitter: @dexthewriter
Purch ase The Tales of Automazombs from Amazon
Link to book on Amazon UK: Paperback
Link to book on Amazon US: Paperback
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If you enjoy fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love SoulBreather, or my epic fantasy Sentinal series. As a new threat against Remargaren is discovered, only one man can wake the ancient guards who can protect them, only he doesn’t know how. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.
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